Family Guy

Family Guy is a FOX animated sitcom, aimed at a mature audience (rated TV-14 and TV-PG), revolving around a dysfunctional family known as the Griffins. The family, who resides in Rhode Island, in the non-existent city of Quahog, consists of overweight, bumbling patriarch Peter; his wife Lois, unfortunate daughter Meg, eldest son Chris, youngest son Stewie – a Rex Harrison-esque talking infant, originally a diabolical child-genius obsessed with world domination and matricide, but in recent years, has become more of an eccentric, sexually ambiguous character – and anthropomorphic dog Brian. Created by Seth MacFarlane, who had previously worked as an animator and writer for Hanna-Barbera, Family Guy first premiered in January 1999, originally running for three seasons until 2003, but resumed production two years later following successful DVD sales and high ratings during syndicated reruns.

Pop-culture references and satire are the norm of Family Guy, most of which usually occur during the show's signature "cutaway vignettes". The Muppets are among the cultural figures that have been parodied and/or mentioned.

Contents

Visual Mentions

In the cold opening, Lois sees Stewie out on the front lawn playing with his Sesame Street Phone (an electronic toy phone). Stewie talks to Ernie.

Stewie: Put me through to the Pentagon!

Ernie (voice): Do you know what sound a cow makes?

Stewie: Don't toy with me, Ernie! I’ve already dispatched with Mr. Hooper, I’ve got six armed men stationed outside Big Bird's nest, and as for Linda? Well, it’s rather difficult for a deaf woman to hear an assassin approach, now isn’t it?

When Ernie asks Stewie if he can count to three, Stewie answers by shooting the phone with his ray gun three times, counting while he does so, until it catches flames. “Can I count to three? For god’s sake, I’m already shooting at a fifth grade level!”

"Mind Over Murder"

Peter, under house arrest, complains to Lois that he can’t watch TV anymore, as every show has been mashed in with one another. He watches the following program, Homicide: Life on Sesame Street, which the announcer warns, “contains adult content that is brought to you by the letter H”.

In the episode, Bert, in the role of the hard, drunkard cop, with Ernie as his life partner – both seen naked in bed – is waken up by a phone call reporting an attack at Hooper's, at which point after getting up, he and Ernie get into a quarrel with each other for the former drinking, and the latter eating cookies in bed. Ernie gets the best out of Bert, the scene ending with Bert frowning at himself and letting out a heavy sigh, accompanied by a comedic music tag.

At a skating rink in Central Park, Meg attracts a pigeon with her birdcalls. Peter is impressed, and asks her to do it again. She does, only this time, a pigeon doesn't respond. Instead, after a brief moment of silence, an aggravated Big Bird shows up to chew Meg out, complaining about how much of a hassle it is for him to get around town.

"Brian Does Hollywood"

Stewie "plays" Interrogation with dolls of Kermit the Frog, as the captive, for thwarting Stewie's world domination plans, and Miss Piggy, as the captive’s girlfriend, whom Stewie proceeds to get “tender" with in order to coerce an answer from the frog.

A clip of Stewie and the Miss Piggy doll from this scene appears in a montage of clips during the musical number, "The Freakin' FCC" in the episode, “PTV”.

Family Guy Viewer Mail #1

In the second segment, “Super Griffins”, Peter and Brian are watching a clip of Sesame Street on TV, involving The Count counting bats in his castle. Peter questions to Brian about The Count’s (obvious) physical appearance, inquiring if there had ever been an episode [of Sesame Street] in which The Count “kills somebody and sucks on their blood for sustenance”. Brian points out that no such episode exists.

"Petarded"

While staying at Cleveland’s house, Peter brings over prostitutes. He shows Cleveland, in another reference to the Number Song Series, seven prostitutes as they are being counted by a children’s chorus from off-screen.

Model Misbehavior

Stewie, as a CashScam executive, gets a call on his Sesame Street Phone from Grover, regarding the letter G and the number 6. Grover (voice not heard) can’t seem to control himself, so Stewie has him call back later. After the conversation, Stewie asks Brian to send Lois a congragulatory basket, and to tell Cookie Monster, if he calls, that he won’t talk to him until he gets out of rehab.

In a cutaway vignette, Cookie Monster is seen in a rehabilitation clinic, being treated for his cookie addiction. Doctors enter the room for inspection, during which one of them finds a plate of cookies hidden under his bedsheets. Cookie tries to deny any knowledge of this, but immediately goes on a binge, at which point the doctors tackle Cookie and inject him to sleep.

Cookie appears again later on in the episode, hiding in a stall in the women's restroom, where Lois walks in on him free-basing a spoonful of cookie dough.

"Jungle Love"

Peter laments about his new job at the Pawtucket Brewery, where he is constantly being ordered around --- a position similar to that of his last job as Dr. Bunsen Honeydew'slab assistant. In a cutaway flashback, “Beaker” meeps, and Bunsen responds, “Agreed, Peter”.

"The Father, the Son and the Holy Fonz"

Stewie has been confined to a plastic ball after having been infected with contaminated holy water. At one point, he finds Peter and Lois outside the Church of The Fonz, and tells them, "You would not believe the morning I had”. This leads to a flashback showing Stewie’s experience as the "pinball" in the Pinball Number Count intro.

The entire sequence is animated exactly the same as the original, frame-to-frame and with the original audio intact.

"Deep Throats"

In a reference to All the Presidents Men – a 1976 film chronocling the real-life investigations of the Watergate scandal – Brian, accompanied by Stewie, drives up to a multi-story car-park at night, to meet with a source who will help him expose Mayor Adam West’s corrupt ways. Brian and Stewie meet the informant, who turns out to be (unbeknownst to them) Kermit, going by the pseudonym Deep Throat and seen standing in the dark. Kermit wishes to remain anonymous as he gives information, but his cover is blown when Brian begins to get a good idea of whom he was just talking to. Kermit exits in a manner similar to his Muppet Show introductions, at which point a confused Stewie turns to Brian and asks, “What’s his appeal?”

A distraught Carter Pewterschmidt (Lois’ father) tells Peter and Lois that his wife Barbara had just left him for Ted Turner, and begins to worry about what the two could be doing at this minute (he assumes it to be sexual activity). As Carter speaks, Barbara is…giving Ted toys of Elmo, Telly and Ernie to play with in the bath. But Ted doesn't want Ernie because “Ernie doesn't like the monsters!”

"Petergeist"

When Peter decides to build a home movie theater, Lois hopes that it would be better than the living room balcony he built last time, which, as revealed in a flashback, happened to be Statler and Waldorf's box. The two curmudgeons comment on that night’s episode of Lost.

"Stewie Loves Lois"

Peter is under the assumption that he has been sexually harassed by Dr. Hartman – the threat in question being a required prostate exam for prevention of cancer – and decides to sue. “Too many people get away with injustice, like the folks you meet in those Louisiana swamps”. In the following vignette, alluding to the first scene in The Muppet Movie – in a rather discriminatory manner – Kermit sits on a log in said swamp, playing his banjo when a lost tourist asks him for directions to town. Kermit answers, "It's back the way you came", at which point he takes out his shotgun.

"Mother Tucker"

Lois, Meg and Chris watch "Round Table”, with panelists Al Michaels, Harold Ramis, Ray Romano, and Kermit, all of whom seem to get their voices mixed up with one another.

"The Tan Aquatic with Steve Zissou"

At the hospital, Brian reassures Stewie that the mole on his stomach, which they believe could be connected with cancer, might turn out to be harmless until Dr. Hartman confirms otherwise, so they will have to wait for results (which will take a few days, according to Hartman). Stewie reminds Brian, “Jim Henson had a 'wait-and-see' attitude, and look what happened to him. Now we’ve got wrong-sounding Muppets!”

The following vignette shows Kermit and The Swedish Chef backstage at The Muppet Theater, both with very different voices - Kermit with a slow, monotonous voice, and the Chef speaking in English. The “American Chef” offers to make spaghetti for Kermit, to which Kermit lets out a drawn out "Yay..." while slowly waving his arms.

The two appear again at the end of the episode, commenting on Peter and Chris’ reconciliation. Another “wrong-sounding” Muppet shows up and that ends up being Fozzie Bear (voiced here by Michael Clarke Duncan) who asks in a deep voice, “Wocka wocka, who wants to hear a funny-ass joke?”

"Believe it or Not, Joe's Walking on Air"

Using computer graphics, Dr. Hartman shows Joe what he'd look like with legs from a variety of donors, including Big Bird.

"Baby Not on Board"

The Griffins are stuck in a train station, trying to get back home to Stewie, whom they realized they've left behind while on vacation. When Brian finds a pick-up truck that will take them to Quahog, Peter suggests, "Let's all leave before Stewie gets hurt, like Fozzie Bear when he went to Saudi Arabia". In a cutaway vignette, Fozzie performs a monologue for a crowd of Saudi Ariabians. "It's good to worship Allah, because I used to worship Some-ah! Wocka wocka!". Fozzie then moves on with the next joke. "I once knew a guy who was so Arab..." One of the Arabs interjects, asking Fozzie in a threatening manner, while wielding a sword, “How Arab was he?!” Fozzie backs down and nervously replies, "Uh, he was so Arab…that everybody liked him, and there was nothing funny about him at all." This was a modification to the joke from the Muppet Movie in the El Sleazo cafe that had to with a fat sailor.

"Not All Dogs Go To Heaven"

At the end of the episode, and throughout the credits, it is revealed that the entire Family Guy universe exists in the lamp in Adam West and Rob Lowe’s bedroom. The set is modeled after Ernie and Bert's bedroom.

"Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show"

Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein introduce a batch of lost screen tests featuring well-known Hollywood actors – all of whom are portrayed by Seth and Alex in these screen tests – auditioning for odd, rather out-of-norm roles in different films (had they actually been cast, these films would have failed miserably, as evident by the actors' inability to stay focused during takes). These include Bea Arthur in Showgirls, Gregory Peck in Transformers, Kathy Griffin in The Piano, The Cowardly Lion in United 93, Renée Zellweger in Independence Day, and Kermit (a commercially licensed hand puppet) who auditions for the Tom Hanks role in Philadelphia.

Kermit:(in character) This is discrimination, pure and simple! And you know, I’d be a lot more upset about it if we didn't have (breaks out of character) ... John Denver here tonight, ladies and gentlemen! John Denver! Yayyyyy!

The director, heard from off-screen, tells Kermit that he might be perfect for the role, adding (about Kermit's performance), “That was the gayest thing I’ve ever seen!”. Kermit frowns at the camera, shaking his head in contempt.

Jerome is the New Black

At the Drunken Clam, Peter, Joe, and Quagmire all miss Cleveland, who has left Quahog to star in his own spin-off series. Peter suggests that they find a replacement to fill in the void, which he compares to Statler without Waldorf, as represented in the following vignette. It turns out that, without the latter, the former finds it much easier to enjoy the the show.

"Something Something Something Dark Side"

In an episode-length parody of The Empire Strikes Back, Chris, as Luke Skywalker, lands on Hoth, where he is warned by Peter, as Han Solo, of snow monsters. Chris dismisses this, but one does show up in front of him – a gargantuan Cookie Monster with horns, playing the role of the Wampa – yelling "COOKIE!" and knocking Chris out unconscious.

Chris later wakes up to find himself in a cave and attempts to escape, only to see the same monster coming for him again. Chris fends off the monster using his lightsaber, eventually cutting its arm off, at which point Chris realizes the beast is harmless. "Me was going to ask you to snow monster ball, but now forget it!” The monster then runs away in tears.

"Go Stewie Go"

Stewie shows Brian an episode of the American adaptation of British children’s program Jolly Farm, in which Stewie landed a role on while posing as a girl named Karina Smirnoff. The proceeding clip shows Stewie (as Karina) and his co-star Julie on a mock Sesame Street – out of context with Jolly Farm, hence its title; also not the actual setting of said show – with two actors dressed as Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, both of whom are being passed off in the clip as “Large Bird” and “Moody Green Garbage Creature” (though the exchanges made after their introduction give them away). Stewie (again, as Karina) berates the latter for his bad temper, calling on butch duo "Bernie and Gert" to deal with him.

"April in Quahog"

Peter tells Brian that he once stuffed the ballot box for the Oscars, cutting away to a scene from the ceremony, where Grover is one of the nominees for Best Actor in a Leading Role, along with Bluto from Popeye, a red guy, a boob, and Daniel Day Lewis. All nominees lose to the red guy.

"Partial Terms of Endearment"

Lois points out that Meg has never had a boyfriend for more than a few weeks. Meg recalls the time she dated The Count, who counted three nipples on her and quickly left.

"And I'm Joyce Kinney"

Lois tells Joyce Kinney that she's a big time celebrity just like Miss Piggy. A scene follows depicting Fozzie in a Pigs in Space costume asking why "Bears in Space" has been canceled. Kermit, who has been visibly beat up, replies that there's been a change.

"Foreign Affairs"

Lois and Bonnie decide to do some "Muppet-style sightseeing" while in Paris, complete with puppet versions of themselves.

"Back to the Pilot"

Stewie has dolls of Bert and Ernie in his room. When Brian sees that he has the Ernie doll tucked under a box, Stewie says that Ernie is getting a cat-scan. Later in the episode, Stewie ponders if Brian changing the past may have resulted in Cookie Monster inventing Cookiebook instead of Facebook.

"Yug Ylimaf"

Statler & Waldorf are at Ford's Theatre during the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. When Statler cracks a joke, he is also shot in the head.

"Brian's Play"

Stewie recalls being the human resource director for The Muppets, which leads to a cutaway gag of him firing Beaker due to him swiping ingredients from the Muppet lab to make meth, which is revealed he had sold to Big Bird, who appears looking beat-up, stoned and with feathers missing.

"Into Harmony's Way"

At the start, the family is watching TV, and the announcer says "We now return to Muppet Babies." On the screen, the adult Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy are looking into a crib, and Kermit notices "Kermie Junior" isn't doing very well. It then pans down to a very ugly half-frog/half-pig mutant, complaining that he is in constant pain and just wants to be killed.

"Herpe, the Love Sore"

Peter and Lois watch VH1's Behind the Music featuring The Electric Mayhem. Set after Animal has found God and cleaned up his act, Dr. Teeth describes Animal's addiction to felt and Janice alludes to a implied rough anal sex encounter. All three characters are voiced by Seth MacFarlane.

"Chap Stewie"

Stewie has faced bigger challenges than breaking up Peter and Lois, like riding a bike in The Muppet Movie. He then states "This is amazing to everyone in the 70's"

Deleted Scenes

A reel of deleted scenes includes a parody of Sesame Street's Mad Painter series in which the title character paints a 7 on a window, and then the window is smashed with a football. The same reel includes Stewie complaining that his Oscar the Grouch diapers have been replaced with José the Grump.

Discussing concepts in the writing room at a Paley Center event for the show, Seth MacFarlane does an impression of Kermit the Frog performing Liam Neeson's character in the 2008 action movie Taken. Later, in a 2014 interview with Neil DeGrasse Tyson for StarTalk Radio, MacFarlane says his Carl Sagan voice is not dissimilar to his Kermit voice.

Verbal Mentions

"Peter Peter Caviar Eater" - In an attempt to raise money to buy back the Griffins’ house in Quahog, Peter tries to convince a couple of investors that the Pewterschmidt mansion has historic value by passing off random, ordinary objects as proof. The investors are unimpressed and leave the room, at which point Peter urges them to come back to see the rock he is holding in his hand, which he explains, is "where the pilgrims landed on Fraggle Rock!"

"A Picture Is Worth a 1,000 Bucks" - Earlier on in the episode, before Meg and Peter's rather awkward encounter with Big Bird, the Griffins check into the Plaza Hotel, where Peter asks the receptionist, "Do you guys have bellhops that are rats, like the Muppets?"

"Fifteen Minutes of Shame" - Peter tries to get attention on the Griffins' reality show with a puppet (Wayland Flowers' Madame) when the camera starts to pan away from Peter to something more interesting. Peter wants the cameraman to come back because "she's gonna sing Rainbow Connection!"

"Let's Go To The Hop" - Quahog 5 news anchors Tom Tucker and Diane Simmons report on a drug craze called Toad (licking toads). Tucker points out other names for the drug: “Lillipadding”, “Frenching the Prince", and "Doing Kermit”.

"A Fish Out Of Water" - A tough biker wants Jim, the con-man posing as a tattoo artist, to draw a skull on his thigh, but Jim suggests Kermit the Frog. The biker says he just wants a skull, but Jim goes ahead with drawing Kermit.

"Ready, Willing, and Disabled" - In an attempt to outdo Joe, Peter, posing as a handicap, meets with Tom Tucker in his office at the Quahog 5 TV station, demanding, among other things, his own telefilm starring Valerie Bertandernie (his mispronounciation of actress Valerie Bertinelli's name).

"Saving Private Brian" - Brian and Stewie have joined the army (much against the former's will), where at one point they hear from the announcer that their platoon will be shipped out to Iraq. Brian distressly exclaims "Iraq!?!" to which Stewie assures him, "He probably meant 'Fraggli-Roc'."

"Stewie Kills Lois" - After Stewie begins admiring the echoing of his inner monologue, his thoughts echo Pigs in Space in the style of the sketch's opening narration.

"Blue Harvest" - Brian, during his introduction scene of playing Chewbacca in a spoof of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, mimics Chewbacca's trademark gargling before spitting in a sink and then saying "Always gargle before a take-off. Wocka-wocka!"

"Long John Peter" - In the Animatic of the episode from DVD Volume 7 Peter mentions Big Bird & Radar in a deleted version of the opening used in the animatic.

"And Then There Were Fewer" - At a dinner party, Carl asks Tom Tucker if he'd ever seen "Jim Henson'sLabyrinth".

"Road to the North Pole" - After Stewie is told that Santa Claus isn't real, he sarcastically asks if Elmo isn't real also.

"It's a Trap!" - When the Ewoks blow their bugles to signal a battle, one of them blows a horn instead, and a chicken flies out of it. This references The Muppet Show'sGreat Gonzo's attempts to blow his horn at the end of the opening theme. Also, an early script for this Star Wars spoof was called "Episode VI: The Great Muppet Caper", but it was thought to be too confusing for people who might be trying to buy the actual The Great Muppet Caper.[1]

Connections

Paula Abdul re-recorded her lines in a rehashed version of the music video of her song, “Opposites Attract” in the episode, “The Father, the Son, and the Holy Fonz”, and voiced as herself in “Lois Kills Stewie”

Ben Stein voiced Rabbi Goldberg in the episodes, “When You Wish Upon a Weinstein” and “Family Goy”

Patrick Stewart voiced himself in "Not All Dogs Go To Heaven" and his American Dad! character Avery Bulloch in "Lois Kills Stewie"; he also provided voices in the episodes, “Peter’s Got Woods” and “No Meals on Wheels”, the former in which he reprised his role as Picard from Star Trek

Patrick Warburton provides the voice for Joe Swanson, and appeared as Cal Johnson in Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show

Frank Welker has voiced characters on numerous occasions; he reprised his roles as Fred from Scooby-Doo in “I Never Met the Dead Man” and "Deep Throats" (in a deleted scene), and Megatron from Transformers in “Ocean’s Three and a Half”

George Wendt reprised his role as Norm, his character from Cheers, in the episode, “Road to Rupert”, and voiced himself in “Three Kings”.